AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF ARLINGTON TO ESTABLISH A SPECIAL ACCOUNT FOR THE SYMMES CONSERVATION AND IMPROVEMENT PROJECT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding chapter 44 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the town of Arlington shall establish a special account into which all proceeds generated by the sale of the former Symmes Hospital site and any other revenue, except building permit fees, including but not limited to profit sharing generated as part of the sale price, shall be deposited, as well as the portion of other revenues, including but not limited to property taxes and fees, that the treasurer and the board of selectmen shall consider necessary in order to amortize the debt issued under the debt exclusion vote of March 31, 2001 and the January 16, 2002 special town meeting vote.
The treasurer of the town shall use this revenue to amortize current debt service for all bonds or bond anticipation notes authorized by the treasurer and the board of selectmen associated with the project without further appropriation. The treasurer shall apply all sale and revenue-sharing revenues, minus any escrow fund established for environmental remediation, to the debt principal as soon after receipt as possible. Other revenue deposited in the account in yearly amounts determined by the treasurer and the board of selectmen, including such surplus as they consider necessary, shall be used to pay the debt service costs (principal and interest), of the remaining debt and for no other purpose. Any revenues in the fund in excess of current year debt service requirements, including any reasonable surpluses, shall be returned to the General Fund. The account will be extinguished when all these debt expenses have been satisfied as determined by the director of the bureau of accounts who may exercise such other oversight that the director considers appropriate. Nothing in this act shall be construed to supersede the urban renewal plan placed upon the project.
The treasurer and the board of selectmen shall make an annual report to the town meeting of all activity in the fund.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding chapter 59 of the General Laws or any other special or general law to the contrary, the principal and interest due in debt amounts authorized by the vote of the town on March 31, 2001 and of the town meeting on January 16, 2002 and expended in furtherance of these votes shall not be added to the tax rate except when the funds specified in section 1 are insufficient to amortize in any given year the maturing debt and interest. In that instance, the amount of the insufficiency shall be added to the tax rate.
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.